Pregnancy is Not a Reason to be Fat

Because you don’t need one.

When I was pregnant with my son, Shepherd, the telling unfolded. Echoes of the stories crafted under the noses of good-doers through the pens of perversion grew: 

“Being pregnant during the holidays is the best— you can eat whatever you want!” 

“You’re so lucky to have a cute bump in the summer…you can just let it all out!” 

“You’re like…the perfect pregnant woman with the perfect little bump!”

You’re allowed to take up space if there’s a reason. A good enough reason. A reason that perpetuates the perversion of power for future generations. And even within that narrow allowance of amplification, you  mustn't get greedy. After all, the smaller bumps are more fashionable. Easier on the eyes. Not as loud. And be sure to stay courteous. When your time is up— return! This space is not an indefinite holding room. You get your ticket and when that final appointment arrives, you shrink to make room for the queue. Imagine a world of amplified bodies and the souls they carry— the horror!

Fat needs no justification. It’s not a shortcoming to be explained or symptom that fundamentally requires diagnosis. It’s not evil to take up more space. And it’s certainly not a moral victory to shrink for the benefit of others. 

What are you defending that needs no defense? What are you waiting to grow until someone gives you permission to water? You need not a “good enough” reason to love. You need not allowance to change.